Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare is mainly about the search for true identity. Paul believes that people should do whatever they want to do in life, disregarding if what people claim is true or false. Paul wants them to forget their past and have new experiences. Which is why Paul goes to many people in order to help them reveal their true identity. For example, Paul wants to help Flan find his true identity but he just ignores him. Causing Flan to stay the same. Paul causes Rick to commit suicide because he does not want to accept his true identity in which he eventually finds out. Paul causes Ouisa to realize who she really loves in her life and who she is. Guare sets up these three characters, Flan, Rick, and Ouisa, to demonstrate the different effects that Paul has on people. Starting off from someone who is totally unaffected by Paul, to someone who is destroyed by him and ultimately settling on Ouisa who has a normal reaction. However,
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But he is also saying that there are small pockets in genuineness in each person which represent the true identity of the person. Paul does whatever he wants to do which is being genuine, but there are times where he has to be realistic about who he is on the outside instead of the inside. Either way, it proves that Paul’s belief cannot be done in society. Paul’s actions do not support his belief. At the beginning, Paul tells the Kittredges and Geoffrey that he does not “even feel black” (30). However, when he is talking to Ouisa on the phone, he tells her that he is “black” (110). Paul makes an argument about The Catcher in the Rye in the beginning of the story but it seems that Guare is showing that the real answer is Salinger’s answer and that Paul is this example that Guare uses to show what the opposite of The Catcher in the Rye would look
But he is also saying that there are small pockets in genuineness in each person which represent the true identity of the person. Paul does whatever he wants to do which is being genuine, but there are times where he has to be realistic about who he is on the outside instead of the inside. Either way, it proves that Paul’s belief cannot be done in society. Paul’s actions do not support his belief. At the beginning, Paul tells the Kittredges and Geoffrey that he does not “even feel black” (30). However, when he is talking to Ouisa on the phone, he tells her that he is “black” (110). Paul makes an argument about The Catcher in the Rye in the beginning of the story but it seems that Guare is showing that the real answer is Salinger’s answer and that Paul is this example that Guare uses to show what the opposite of The Catcher in the Rye would look